| | We had the pleasure of hosting our Rhonophile friend who was visiting the Bay area, and put together some older wines to complement the Rhone legend which he provided. Warm Up - 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
Light amber with fine mousse. Open nose with a whiff of caramel at first, but impressively fresh for 18 year old Champagne. Serious, deep black fruit, brioche, and excellent acidity. Big, bold, and right at the cusp of developing more mature Champagne characteristics. Terrific and more than approachable now.
- 1979 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - France, Alsace
Medium yellow. Intense mature Riesling, petrol aromatics accompanied by peach and even apricot notes. Rich, viscous feel but dry, dry, dry. Even fresher than the bottle I had from the same source several months ago. Amazingly complex, long finish. An absolute pleasure to get a chance to experience this again.
The Main Event A Burgundy and 2 wines often described as "Burgundian" - 1990 Domaine Bartet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Lighter ruby with fading edges. Beautiful combination of earth, subtle fruit, and sous bois aromas. Crisp, fresh, cooler style more reminiscent of '93 or '01 than a '90. This peaked early, lost some fruit, and became more gritty, but picked up an interesting whiff of smokiness. Its fragility suggests that it is close to or past its peak, but very lovely during its initial hour out of the bottle. Despite its somewhat transient glory, I loved the poise, delicacy, and balance here, which were far more than I expected of this wine.
- 1989 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very healthy, fairly dark color. Starts out fairly reticent and somber with darker fruit and some tannin. Opens slowly and builds beautifully to reveal a more opulent side that eventually shows some spice and cherry liqueur rather than a more overtly strawberry/raspberry character. Sappy, in fact somewhat heavy compared to the Burgundy and Rioja in the flanking glasses. Of these 3 wines, this showed the most development over time and staying power, suggesting at least 10 more years of longevity and positive evolution. We were sorry we had not opened this a little earlier as it never stopped improving over the 2+ hours it lasted. Outstanding if not quite great. I would vote for good bottles of the '90 for its lacy, more elegant texture and brighter red fruit.
- 1976 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Light tawny color. Very appealing, complex initial impression with cedar and crystallized fruit. Notably, no overripeness or stewed flavors despite this notoriously hot year. Unfortunately, this quickly turns leaner and greener with intrusive wood. Best right out of the bottle, then a steady, inexorable downhill course. Past peak and a disappointment given its reputation. Preferred the '81 tasted recently.
Dessert - 1971 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Fantastic orange tinged amber color. Nose is equally fantastic, with ginger, other spices, pear, honey, and caramel. Intense yet delicate flavors, not too sweet, some almond on the finish, and strong balancing acidity. This does not bowl you over with massive concentration or power, but it has held up exceptionally well. (The night after, a strong scent of orange marmalade)
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